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K-State women's hoops find new contributors in win over WU

MANHATTAN — At times during the Kansas State women’s 85-64 exhibition win over Washburn, the Wildcats’ five players on the floor all were playing in their first game at K-State.

Of the Wildcats’ 85 points, 66 of them were scored by players who either didn’t play last season or weren’t on the team.

“The thing that was most encouraging for me is we looked like a team that knew how to create shot opportunities,” K-State coach Deb Patterson said of the 11-man rotation she used, which collectively shot 43 percent from the field. “I’m happy with the start. It was great to have a real bench. Just saw all kinds of possibilities.”

One Wildcat name likely to be recognized sooner rather than later is Leticia Romero — a 5-foot-8 guard out of Las Palmas, Spain, who played for the Spanish U19 team. Romero led all scorers with 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting. She also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and recorded 4 steals.

“I had no idea how it was going to be,” Romero said of her expectations coming into the game. “It’s really different, but I really like it. I was nervous, but I thought we did a great job.”

Junior guard Haley Texada — who seconded Romero’s output with 15 points — was the one Wildcat out of four total that scored double figures who was not playing in her first game at K-State.

Freshman Erica Young, (6-3) added 10 points on 4 of 5 from the field.

“It’s kind of nice (having depth), because we’re not used to having breaks,” Texada said, before adding, “it’s beautiful to have a collection of legitimate posts to throw the ball to.”

Redshirt freshman Kelly Thomson, who missed all last season with a torn ACL, contributed 14 points, highlighted by 4 of 7 from the 3-point line.

“It was a great feeling,” Thomson said of playing in a game. “I just feel extremely blessed to be out there in the first place. My head was spinning because it has been a year since I’ve played, so it was a cool experience for me just to be out there again.”

After an ugly, knocking-the-rust-off first eight minutes of the first half, K-State began to settle in.

The Wildcats rattled off a 10-0 run midway through the first half to take a 21-11 lead, but saw the lead disappear in less than two minutes when the Ichabods answered with a 10-point run of their own.

Then K-State got some of the newcomers involved. Breanna Lewis (6-5), who started the game, scored two possessions in a row in the post, followed later by a 3-pointer from Thomson. Romero continued the run with a slick move to the bucket, and Young scored on a turnaround baby hook to cap a 7-0 run.

Romero paced the Wildcats offensively in the first half, scoring 12 points, pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out three assists to guide the Wildcats to a 40-28 halftime lead.

K-State controlled the offensive boards in the second half, outrebounding the Ichabods 25-16. Those board included nine on offense to keep them at a double-digit distance for most of the second half.

“The greatest area of need for us was offense and rebounding. We boarded the ball well tonight too as a team,” Patterson said. “Those two areas were my concern, and we took care of business there.”